Councils should consult over care

Local
authorities should develop more effective ways to consult isolated
older people about the home care they need, according to a new Help
the Aged study.

The
charity says there are significant groups of older people whose
voice is rarely heard, such as the frail and house-bound and those
from ethnic minorities.

“Although these groups are often more difficult to reach, it is
vital that they have an opportunity to make local and national
government aware of their views,” states the report Quality
Matters: Striving for Excellence in Home Care.

The
report also criticises the inadequate level of training for care
staff, and the lack of investment in social care. Help the Aged has
called for the government to bring investment in social care up to
NHS funding levels. More should also be done to build on existing
good practice in the sector.

“There
is a feeling in the care sector that the future of care services
could go one of two ways – the way of quality or the way of
crisis,” it claims.

A
Department of Health spokesperson said pay and conditions of care
workers were a matter for individual employers.

But she
added that the government had provided £2 million this year to
provide basic induction training for social care staff. The DoH is
also sponsoring a recruitment and retention campaign for social
workers, due to launch later this year.

Quality Matters: Striving for Excellence in Home Care from
020 7239 1940.